As befitting its name, Milhamah RPG is full of war, and sometimes that means the Narrator needs to craft war scenes. Not all of us can be Sun Tzu or Von Clausewitz, but here are a few tips of how to create interesting battles between armies, navies and more:
Subjects: Know your units, and their numbers
- What are the main types of generic fighting units and combat arms that each side has? What kind of roles do they play:
- infantry (Mechanized: Heavy, Light Infantry, Airborne, Air Assault: Light).
- special forces.
- armor/cavalry: Tanks destructive against armored vehicles and infantry. Cavalry secures and good for recon.
- air defense: anti-air and anti-missile
- field artillery: Cannons and rocket launchers
- aviation: attack, assault or air cavalry (Heavy). Attack copters good when terrain hard for ground forces. Air cavalry scout copters good for recon.
- combat engineers: Use armored engineer vehicles, demolishes obstacles and enemy equipment. Makes bridges, rafts, roads and more to breach other obstacles.
- Are the forces heavy? (armor, armored cavalry, aviation and mechanized infantry with high firepower but bad at urban/restricted fighting) Think armored vehicles and tanks, attack/utility choppers, and trucks/legendary beasts.
- Are the forces light? (Most infantry and foot soldiers). Not very powerful, but mobile and good for urban/restricted fighting.
- What position are they in: vanguard, flank, skirmishing?
- How many of those units do they each have?
- Who are the notable commanders on each side, particularly the marshals/commanders, generals/admirals, colonels and squad leaders?
- Who is the aggressor and who is the defender? How prepared and disciplined are the troops on each side, and how high is their morale?
Objects: Supplies and logistics
- How much supplies and weapons does each side have? What is their budget to equip their units? How fragile are their supply lines?
- What are each side’s secret weapons, and how do they work?
Times and Places: Know the terrain and weather
- What kind of terrain is the battlefield, and how difficult is it to navigate? Where is the high or low ground? Where are the chokepoints?
- How is the time of day and the weather impacting movement and visibility?
Verbs and Manners: Describe the battle from the party’s point of view
- What are the agents doing? Are they fighting in the trenches or on the front lines? Are they moving more covertly behind enemy lines, acting as reconnaissance or spying? Are they engaged in an escort mission, or are they trying to find precious supplies or deliver them to the right people? Are they operating on the wounded in a field hospital? Distributing leaflets or messages with demoralizing propaganda?
- What are the agents’ objectives? Are they purely military, or do they involve political, economic or psychological warfare too? Are they trying to assassinate leaders, sabotage supply lines, harass enemy camps, guerrilla-style ambushes? Are they defending an allied city or nation from invasion? Engaging in demoralizing psyops to scare or worry the enemy? Gaining intelligence or access to undiscovered shoresh roots to turn the tide of the war? Thwarting a terrorist attack? Keeping dangerous weapons, documents or shoresh roots out of enemy hands? Blowing up enemy strongholds because, heck, they’re there?
- What are the agents doing before or after the battle? Are they arguing with each other or self-critiquing during debriefings? Are they bonding over how good or terrible the grub is? Are they worried about enemy spies? Is the camaraderie among comrades high? Are they training grimly for the day of battle?
Recommended resources for military strategy
The Art of War by Sun Tzu
On War by Von Clausewitz
36 Strategies